Dr. Eric Downer (Asst. Prof. and Director of Human Health and Disease BSc) and Dr. Jean Fletcher (Asst. Prof. and Senior Freshman Human Health and Disease coordinator) hosted a career evening for the Human Health and Disease BSc in the Tercentenary theatre, TBSI, on February 12th. The event was attended by the current Human Health and Disease classes.

Dr. Fletcher and Dr. Downer welcomed the return of ten Human Health and Disease alumni to share their experiences of life after their undergraduate years in the BSc programme. All ten graduates provided excellent insight into their chosen career paths in scientific research, industry, regulatory affairs and medicine.

2017 BSc Human Health and Disease Graduation

Human Health and Disease Senior Sophister Graduation

Congratulations to our new Human Health and Disease graduates, who were awarded their degrees at a graduation ceremony held in the Examination Hall in December 2017

University College Cork Study in Collaboration with Dr Deirdre Edge, Physiology Trinity College Dublin.

New research published in The Journal of Physiology suggests that enhancing breathing via the brain may limit deficiencies in respiratory capacity in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients.

Dr. Eric Downer will be on stage to present his popular talk "High Hopes for Cannabis" a riveting lecture wherein he outlines the research behind the use of cannabis in the treatment of MS.Science on Tap: The Liquor Rooms, Temple Bar, Dublin @ScienceOnTapIE

The Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland’s Section of Biomedical Sciences Annual Meeting was hosted by TCD Physiology in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute on 22nd June 2017. The day started with a welcome address from the Section President Prof Veronica Campbell (TCD) followed by the opening of the Donegan Medal competition by the Section Secretary Prof. Ken O’Halloran (UCC). Twelve first-time presenters battled for the Donegan Medal and the standard was so high that both winner (Deirdre Scully UCD and Nicola Kavanagh RCSI) and runner-up places (Orla Haugh TCD and Bibiana Mota TCD) were shared. A first for the meeting! A jam-packed poster session with contributions from RCSI, UCD, TCD, UCC, Dundalk and DCU along with many national and international collaborators kept us busy during coffee time – a really great festival of science. A respite from competition allowed us to thoroughly enjoy the Conway review lecture delivered by Dr. Stephen Keely (RCSI) who provided a fascinating account of bile acids through the ages, from traditional Chinese medicine to current-day therapeutics. Oral communications followed from Dr. Gerard O’Keeffe (UCC), Michelle Smith (UCD) and Sarah Wade (TCD). The competition kicked off again for the Barcroft Medal where we were treated to some riveting data delivered by postdoctoral researchers from as far flung as the University of Nevada! The breadth of topics was extensive and included Parkinson’s disease, autoimmunity, breast cancer and immune metabolism culminating in calcium signalling stealing the show with a well-deserved winner in Dr. Bernard Drumm. After an intensive deliberation by the judges, the prize-giving ceremony was held at the wine reception and winners were bestowed with their prizes by the Section President and Secretary. The scientific dialogue continued over dinner at Quay 16 where we consolidated our newly acquired knowledge – a deeply enjoyable day!

Past News and Events

Prof. Lynch, Dept of Physiology, has been awarded €1.38 for the research project "Targeting glial plasticity to alleviate age-related loss of neuronal function in Alzheimer’s disease"

The aims of this project are

To identify novel markers, with an emphasis on metabolic changes, which reflect microglial activation and functional state. The ultimate objective is to utilize these markers to develop MRI tools and therefore assess changes with age, in particular in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, in a non-invasive manner.

To establish whether the age-related loss of glial plasticity correlates with a shift in their metabolism that impacts on synaptic density and thereby on synaptic function.

To assess the potential beneficial effects of 4 strategies designed to reprogramme glia in alleviating the deficits that develop with age and in Alzheimer's disease.

Facilitator: Dr Eric Downer, School of Medicine, Department of Physiology

Embryology is a core subject undertaken by Health Science students, with the aim to bring together core knowledge in Cell Biology, Anatomy and Physiology to describe the developmental process from fertilization to birth. For the 2015-16 academic year student feedback indicated difficulty visualising key embryological concepts in 2D, particularly embryonic folding/flexion and cell layer migration during gastrulation. This project will develop an interactive audio-visual animation that will be implemented into the Junior Freshman curriculum for teaching embryology and will be assessed via pre- and post- animation surveys to determine if the audio-visual aid improves student learning in embryology. Furthermore, the collation of questionnaire data associated with the animation will be conducted by a Senior Sophister student as part of their final year undergraduate research project. Overall, this will explore how the animation can be used to supplement student education beyond the traditional classroom. This project will act as the first steps to develop a prospective pilot animation, which will be introduced in 2016-17, and will act as a platform to develop/implement new audio-visual teaching tools into degree programmes throughout the School/Faculty, including Medicine, Nursing and Occupational Therapy.

This image represents the cellular organization between neurons and glial cells in a mouse cerebellar organotypic slice. Organotypic cultures of brain tissue allow you to study different parts of the brain –e.g. the cerebellum- in their original structure, keeping the cellular organization and neuronal networks almost as they are in vivo. This can be used to study different development features of the brain in vitro, as well as to perform electrophysiological and pharmacological experiments. In the brain, neurons are outnumbered by glial cells, amongst we can distinguish astrocytes, microglia and oligodendrocytes. Here it is shown the interaction between neurons (red), astrocytes (yellow) and microglia (green) in one of the lobules of the cerebellum. The imaging is done by confocal microscopy with the Leica SP8 microscope in TBSI. This image is 300µm wide.

This fluorescent image was generated using confocal microscopy. It depicts the complex interplay of glial and neuronal cells in the cerebellum of a Twitcher mouse, an animal model for Krabbe’s Disease (KD). This infantile neurodegenerative disease affects all cell types in the brain and is mainly characterised by accumulations of a toxic metabolite called psychosine. This, in turn, is detrimental to oligodendrocytes, causing dismantling of their protective myelin sheath around neurons. Although clinical practice lacks a curative treatment, emerging evidence suggests beneficial effects of pre-treatment with fingolimod, a drug used for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. In this image, oligodendrocytes (green), neurons (red) and astrocytes (yellow) were stained using immunohistochemistry, in order to monitor effects of treatment with fingolimod in the Twitcher mouse. This technique allows evaluating this compound as a potential candidate for treating this devastating childhood illness.

Dr. Eric Downer awarded Dean’s Award for Innovation in Teaching

Dr. Downer, has teamed up with Dr. John Dingliana and Dr. Jean Fletcher to develop a novel teaching aid for incorporation into the Human Health and Disease BSc programme.

Embryology is a core subject undertaken by Health Science students, with the aim to bring together core knowledge in Cell Biology, Anatomy and Physiology to describe the developmental process from fertilization to birth. For the 2015-16 academic year student feedback indicated difficulty visualising key embryological concepts in 2D, particularly embryonic folding/flexion and cell layer migration during gastrulation.

This project will develop an interactive audio-visual animation that will be implemented into the Junior Freshman curriculum for teaching embryology and will be assessed via pre- and post- animation surveys to determine if the audio-visual aid improves student learning in embryology. Furthermore, the collation of questionnaire data associated with the animation will be conducted as part of a research project. Overall, this will explore how the animation can be used to supplement student education beyond the traditional classroom. This project will act as the first steps to develop a prospective pilot animation, which will be introduced in 2016-17, and will act as a platform to develop/implement new audio-visual teaching tools into degree programmes throughout the School/Faculty, including Medicine, Nursing and Occupational Therapy.

Dr. Downer's research is featured on page 8 of Issue 1 of MS Research in the linked PDF

RAMI 2016

Congratulations to Dr. Sinéad Ryan, Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, who was awarded the Barcroft Early Career Award at the 2016 meeting of the Biomedical Sciences Section of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland, held on June 23rd in UCC.

Sinéad researches the cellular mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effects of exercise in a model of Alzheimer’s Disease and works in Dr Áine Kelly’s laboratory.

Trinity College launches new free online course:
“Exercise Prescription for the Prevention and Treatment of Disease”

"Exercise Prescription for the Prevention and Treatment of Disease", Trinity’s newest free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), run in partnership with FutureLearn, begins on the 18th of April 2016.

This two week free online course from Trinity College Dublin will explore the evidence behind exercise prescription, and how it has evolved as a tool for preventing and treating disease. Geared towards healthcare professionals, the course details how physiological adaptations to exercise can translate to improved health outcomes, and will help enhance confidence in exercise prescription as a treatment.

Assistant Professor of Physiotherapy Dr Cuisle Forde explains, “Not that long ago bed rest was prescribed to patients with cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and exercise was considered by many health professionals as something to be avoided. Today, exercise is an integral part of patient treatment”.

The free online course will address the role of exercise in the treatment of a variety of clinical populations including people with cardiovascular disease, mental health problems, paediatric conditions and cancer.
Available to anyone with internet access across multiple devices including desktops, tablets and smartphones, the two-week innovative course will enable healthcare professionals anywhere to experience a Trinity education. Throughout the course there will be an opportunity to engage with researchers, healthcare professionals and exercise prescription experts from the discipline of Physiotherapy and the Department of Physiology at Trinity College Dublin.

Head of Physiology Dr Aine Kelly says "One of the best things about this course is that it is accessible to health care professionals who feel they need to increase their working knowledge and awareness of the latest research in exercise prescription for patient populations."

This course is designed for healthcare professionals who wish to broaden their understanding of exercise prescription and physical activity as a tool to prevent and treat disease, but no previous experience or qualifications are required.

Trinity College School of Medicine is an international leader in postgraduate education with a strong research focus. This course will give learners a taster of the Online Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Exercise. Applications are now open for this course, with details available here: http://www.medicine.tcd.ie/physiotherapy/postgraduate/online/